


Attention, Please

by resurrectedhippo



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Affection, Gen, Herbology, Hogwarts Eighth Year, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, POV Draco Malfoy, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-05-28 17:57:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15054656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resurrectedhippo/pseuds/resurrectedhippo
Summary: Draco ignores Potter and tends to his plants.





	Attention, Please

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: Dear Slytherninvalues, I hope I was able to give you some pining in this short fic. I must admit, I don't really know how to write pining, but I hope this is still satisfying. This song was inspired by "Affection" by Cigarettes after Sex. Thank you R, for the beta.

Draco came to the conclusion that there's only three places he can seek refuge in while finishing his education at Hogwarts. The first is his room, but it is often too quiet, as if the occupants are too afraid to speak with one another. 

No, Blaise, Greg, and Draco are not afraid to speak with each other. They've lived in the same bedroom since their sorting at Hogwarts. It is just too quiet without Vincent. He's grateful he doesn't have to spend the year bunking with stupid Nott. 

There is the library, but too many people look at him there, just as they do in the Great Hall. Once upon a time, Draco would have thrived - even gained energy - from the attention of others. 

He wants to be invisible now. Sometimes he makes his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest just to make sure he feels something. He was once afraid of who lived in the forest, now it's a place that reminds Draco that he is alive. These days, Draco takes too long to get out of bed, only forcing himself into the shower at the last minute. 

He feels lethargic. It's hard to summon the energy to live everyday just to be stared at and not in the way that makes him feel validated. No, all the curious glances tell him he's wrong and undeserving of Potter's mercy. 

Too many people follow him around, Draco thinks. There's Potter, who Draco knows scans the halls and classrooms and the grounds themselves, just to see if Draco's up to no good. 

Women keep following him around too. Though he has no clue why. Throughout the past two months since the term started, the curious glances would transform into wide eyes whenever Draco was present.

Every time Potter was around, a cluster of women circled his vicinity as if they were protecting him. Draco side steps them. Pansy calls it his fan club. 

"Have you become as oblivious Saint Potter? Too oblivious to notice that these fifth years are practically wet for you? The people in our house, I get, - you're still the King of Slytherin - but these Hufflepuffs totally get a hard-on for the kicked puppies."

Draco, offended, stops himself from hexing Pansy. "Are you referring to yourself? No wonder Abbott has let up the wards in the garden for you."

"Shut up." She hums, looking thoughtful. "Just a sad little thing that Hufflepuffs want to take care of." She shrugs a fine shoulder and makes eyes at Longbottom and Abbott from where they're picking sweet potatoes. She skipped out on helping with the construction of Hogwarts, much like Potter, Granger, and Weasley. He doesn't know where the Golden Trio went. Possibly off running the Ministry. 

Pansy had no excuse. Though, she did need to lie low due to her part in the Battle, as if being away for three months was going to make people forget about her screaming at the top of her lungs. 

"You know, women often like this look." She gestures towards his hair. It's still a sore spot for him. 

He cut it off for various reasons: firstly, it was too hot when he worked the gardens (which really was a large field with several greenhouses), secondly, Draco had the fleeting thought it would make him less of a Malfoy. Only the haircut attracted more attention.

Hannah Abbott said he sported the cut of a Muggle solider. Whatever that meant. Abbot was the slag who cut off his hair to fancy it after her Muggle granddad. Cut on the sides. Some hair left on the top. 

"I came from a line of fine breeding. I am fully aware that I'm disarmingly handsome, Pansy." 

"Indeed. Add your aristocratic features with your history with the war -" 

He sighs, dropping his shovel and moving towards the field of snargaluffs hoping Pansy would leave him alone. Draco doesn't want to talk about the war. He's had to rehash it with the Ministry, then by writing apology letters to all those he'd directly and indirectly harmed by his role in the war, and finally, by facing his fellow peers with a courteous smile and gracious manners as if deference would win them over. 

He's done with that shit, that's why he's hanging out with Longbottom and Abbott. At least they shut up and only make eyes at each other… and lately, Pansy. 

"As I was saying, with this whole 'redeemed' bad-boy quality, of course, the birds of this dump of a school will be fawning over you." 

"Merlin, why are they so thick?"

"I'm going to side-step the cock joke. You're just as oblivious as Saint Potter." 

"What are you on about now? Don't compare me to the bloody Savior." 

He's aware he wouldn't compare to Potter. They aren't even in the same plane, circle, or astronomical orbit. Potter is the sun of the wizarding world, the poster boy for morality, ethical, and good decisions. Draco is a fizzing star, disowned even by his own star system.

It really pisses Draco off. Can't they see that Potter was a hot-headed, oblivious stalker who's bad at Potions and every other class offered at Hogwarts other than Defense?

"Just saying, it's like you're oblivious to the fact that these birds want you and that Potter is always chasing after your tail." She takes a breath and looks around, winking at Longbottom and Abbott before yelling, "If not he's behind the bushes in his stupid cloak stalking you." 

He doesn't want to talk about Potter. He's told Pansy as many times, yet she doesn't get it through her thick head. Draco wonders if her sharply trimmed bangs protect her from what she doesn't want to hear. 

"What Potter does is none of my business."

"Ha, that's new. You made whatever Potter did not just your business, but your own goddamn life the past seven years." 

"The war changes things," he mutters. 

And indeed, the war has transformed many people's perspectives, including Draco's. He's been keeping his head down since the start of the term. But his lack of interest in his peers' questions and at the beginning, goading by several men in all houses, only seemed to fuel their attempt at figuring what Draco Malfoy's been up to.

The answer: not much. He's gardening with Longbottom and Abbott and sometimes runs the field with Ginerva Weasley. Instead of finding these tentative acquaintances confusing, the Slytherins followed Draco under the impression that good graces and playing nice will reap its rewards. And indeed, it has.

Here and there are some tensions between Gryffindors and Slytherins, but it's mostly subsided.

Draco doesn't care. Fuck Potter. He isn't playing nice at all. He doesn't even care about stupid Potter. Potter is the shining example that incompetence (fine, along with a good heart, a moral compass) can save the world. 

It certainly helps that Potter's rugged features and dark skin tone awed the public. 

Potter just got everything, didn't he? 

"You know, the more you ignore Potter, the more he seeks your attention. It's practically a disturbing saccharine American film." 

He hates knowing that he's like everyone else. Potter could have him. But that was up to Potter. And Potter would never want him, so Draco wouldn't belong to anyone but himself.

Sometimes Draco thinks the war has taken his organs out and rearranged them so that he's only tolerably functional. In this case, Draco deeply suspects he should be happy he's free, that he belongs to no one, not even the Malfoy name.

The name is nothing even with society's forgiveness. No, it doesn't mean anything to him anymore. What is the point of heritage, history, and culture when it's nothing but a violent, misconceived lie? 

*

He wasn't enthusiastic about working with Longbottom when McGonagall assigned him to repair the gardens and the greenhouses the summer following the war. He'd rather have stay home and let the despair of his mistakes cut him open. But his mother, for once the forceful one out of his two parents, insisted Draco return to Hogwarts and show his face. His father was less enthusiastic about staying in England. 

As expected, Longbottom oscillated between weary and fury whenever around Draco. At one point, the tension and discussion of the war turned into both their fists meeting each other's faces. Longbottom, heaving, rolled over from under Draco and pushed himself up.

He offered a hand to Draco. Surprised, Draco took it and met Longbottom's grin. 

"Wondered how long you'd last. I'm sort of grateful you didn't last the week."

"What are you on about, Longbottom?"

"Draco Malfoy without the trademark smirk and the cutting remarks isn't you at all. It was a bit frightening to see you sulking and feeling sorry for yourself. That's the part that pissed me off."

"I can't be upset now, Longbottom? What can I do that isn't regulated by you lot?" 

"You can do anything and be whoever you want, Malfoy. I just hope it's better than who you were before the war." Longbottom scratched his head and then let Draco into the greenhouse, a place Longbottom previously banned him from entering during the repairs. 

Their tentative friendship began. 

Draco was still Draco. Longbottom was still an overly large oaf. Except everything changed because he made a Gryffindor friend. 

*  
Spending all summer with Longbottom, he learned that Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs refused to be ignored. Gryffindors huffed and became as righteous as the statue guarding the Headmaster's quarters. Hufflepuffs got teary, while Abbot became aggressively passive-aggressive, making all her thoughts and feelings about an issue heard by the number of times she stomped her feet and slammed a pot. 

Potter is a Gryffindor, but Draco still ignores him. 

There's nothing to it. There's no purpose of instigating Potter. Draco no longer wants to invest time making badges that were sure to rile up Potter. There are better things to do. 

He goes to classes and sits on the farm bench in the greenhouse to study. Abbott and Longbottom join him. Sometimes he and Longbottom get into long, intense conversations about plants. Draco admits that Longbottom isn't just an overgrown human or a baby giant, but a brilliant and kind human being. 

Abbott is barking mad and has an undercutting, sly sense of humor. She's the first of Longbottom's friends to sit her arse down the farm bench and say, "If you want to show you've changed, you have to do something drastic. Most people are stupid, you know, and can't see beyond the superficial. Why don't I take you to Muggle London to buy some new clothes?" 

They spent many summer days after the repairs in Muggle London. Abbott forced hot chips into Draco's mouth and a cool, fizzy drink into his hand (which should be an abomination but was surprisingly tasty) the first day. She never heard him complain after because Draco was the one to not so subtly suggest eating at a Muggle restaurant. 

He hears news of Potter in the summer and keeps his mouth shut. 

*

"If you're still resolute in ignoring Harry, I suggest you stop complaining about him stalking you." Abbott rolls her eyes and Draco wonders if she and Pansy have also been exchanging secrets on how to piss off Draco. 

He doesn't even talk about Potter all that much. If he does, it's only to state how much Draco is bothered by Potter constantly trying to corner him in the halls or catch his eye during lectures. 

Draco ignores Potter. He can't exactly say why he's determined to pretend Potter doesn't exist when Potter obviously does. No one can ignore Potter. When Potter enters a room any talented witch or wizard knows its him by the crackle of energy that transforms the room. Potter demands attention. 

Draco won't give him the satisfaction. 

"You do realize, that you're only egging him on, right?" Longbottom continues munching on his biscuits.  
"And what would be the point in that? I may not hate Potter, but I'm not dying to befriend him."

Never mind that he's almost died several times over by defying orders and hoping the best for Potter. 

"Lies!" Pansy says. 

"Everything you say about Harry screams affection." Abbott states as a matter of fact.

"You all are bollocks." Draco digs into his lunch and ignores his friends' pointed looks.

He's getting good at ignoring things. 

*  
He's getting better at ignoring Potter, but Draco still feels Potter's eyes on him. Ignoring Potter doesn't stop doesn't stop Potter from trying to get Draco's attention. In fact, it seems like the more Draco tries to avoid Potter, the more the git insists on having a one-on-one conversation with him. The night they returned to Hogwarts, Potter found him wandering the halls. 

Draco wasn't part of the indoor reconstruction. Despite being on the grounds all summer, he returned home daily, still not ready to walk the halls where his friends and enemies died.

Potter found him in an alcove near the Room of Hidden Things. Hands in his pockets, he greeted Draco, "I heard you and Neville are best mates now." 

"Tell Longbottom to stop flirting with me."

Potter laughed, the sound foreign to Draco. He was never in the receiving end of Potter's openness. If Potter laughed in front of him in the past, it was because Draco had fucked up. 

"What are your goals for this year?" Potter asked, the lighting from the torches making his hair lighter, casting shadows on his face. 

Draco's goals: keep his head down, don't attract attention, not be a git, survive Lovegood's lectures on compassion and empathy. He couldn't do all that with Potter. No, Potter made his skin crawl, like spiders walking a path down his shoulders and past his Mark. When Potter addressed him during the trails, his feet felt numb. Potter reduces him to physiology. Best course of action: stay away from Potter.

Draco passed Potter. But he couldn't leave it at that. His mother taught him grace. "I'm choosing hope." 

*

At the present, Draco sits across a group of magical cacti with healing properties. He finishes his debate with Longbottom on their potency. While Longbottom is well-equipped with Herbology, he was still shit with Potions Theory. But proves helpful to Draco's pet project: the possibility of erasing scars and marks on the body. 

He could have left the green house and never returned, but Longbottom's and Abbott's friendship were too valuable for him.

Besides, he enjoys the calm mindlessness of physical work. Longbottom used to make him lift the dirt and dig out weeds without a wand because it was "important to connect with the Earth." Practical magical theory taught him that balance is key. The grounds needed reassurance and magical support after the damage it suffered from the war. 

Lovegood shuffles papers beside him. She's assisting Draco on his research project. She hums and ruffles Draco's hair and sometimes kisses his cheek even though Lovegood knows that it does nothing for Draco. It's friendly; a kiss is kiss. 

Like now, she shifts closer and presses a kiss to his nose. 

Draco knows better than to think anything of it. It's Luna Lovegood. 

"I'm making Harry jealous." Her grin is the first thing Draco sees. It's a smile that says Lovegood is extremely smug about what she is doing. 

"Why do we still talk about Potter? He's completely irrelevant now. He's ancient news, Lovegood. The Prophet only publishes about him every other day." 

Lovegood laughs and shakes her head. "Usually Harry likes flying by undetected, but he's getting increasingly moody with your refusal to acknowledge him. Ginny thought it would be fun if I kissed you and made him jealous. We think he'll finally come out of that cloak and speak to you." She stands and collects her paper work. 

Lovegood pauses by a wooden chair by the door, and calls out, "See you, Harry." 

He's wondered for a while why Abbott and Pansy placed a chair there weeks ago. Has Potter been there since? Draco sees Potter's head first, until he shrugs the rest of the cloak off. 

"Er, hi." 

He isn't surprised that Potter would go such lengths to see him. The question is why. 

"What do you want?" 

"Just wanted to see what you were up to."

Draco sighs, feeling defeated. "Not much as you can tell if you've been sitting her long enough. Discussing plant properties with Longbottom. Writing. Experimenting. Bickering with friends. Anything else, Potter?" 

Potter takes a breath. The cloak is on his arm, making part of the limb invisible. Draco watches him, fascinated by the rise and fall of his chest, like he is getting ready for something gruesome or beautiful. 

"Why are you ignoring me?" 

"I'm not ignoring you. I'm speaking to you, right now, aren't I? Any intelligent being would argue in fact, I am not ignoring you." He sets the quill down the moment Potter revealed himself. Potter always had Draco's attention even when he wasn't physically present. 

There was no escaping him. 

Potter moves forward, hesitates for a moment, until he gets an uncaring demeanor and occupies the seat vacated by Lovegood. 

It makes Draco nervous to have Potter so near. He doesn't want to fight. He's tired of throwing hexes and curses.

They've grown out of physical violence and hexes. Draco still fears confrontation or an analysis of his own actions. 

He wishes Potter was on the other side of the table, separating him from Draco. 

Potter is so close that Draco can see the small mole on edge of his lips. He wonders if the mole moves upward when Potter smiles. Potter's eyes were always a distraction. Too many people sang praises on the bright green hue hidden by round glasses. It was a red herring though. Potter's best physical feature, his lips and that mole, was second best to the energy he brought to the room.

Draco feels miserable because Potter is undeniably handsome. 

It's mid-November and he's had the past few months to unravel the complicated mess of feelings he thought was deep-seated hatred for scar head was a desire for Potter's attention.

"I've been watching you and trying to piece together how you became the person you are now." 

"Stalking me, you mean." 

Potter shakes his head. "Watching and feeling absurd because I have the immense desire to be your friend. And I wish you'd look at me across the hall and watch me back. I also wish Luna would stop kissing you." 

"I don't understand how these things are related."

"I want you to see me. Like I see you." 

"How do you see me?"

"Like someone I want to know everything about."

"Alright." 

"Alright?" 

"Yeah, we can try to be friends." 

"Really?" 

"Do I need to repeat myself and revoke my offer?" Potter shakes his head. Draco tries not to laugh, but he feels so lightheaded and glorious. "Shut up and read this text. My project may be able to benefit with your assistance. But I'm not too hopeful." 

Potter sits too close, pressing his thigh to Draco's. He asks questions about passages and demands Draco explain the theory right away. Potter is impatient and needy and annoying. 

*

Potter joins Draco in the greenhouse often. He brings his homework, some books, snacks, and sometimes Weasley and Granger.

Sometimes, Pansy, Abbott, Longbottom, and Lovegood join them, but most times they leave Draco and Harry alone.

Potter becomes Harry. Harry becomes the person who sits too close and blushes around Draco. Harry becomes the annoying git who bares his teeth when Draco's fanclub come near. Draco thinks he should ignore Harry again because he can no longer repress the urge to kiss Potter.

After the hols, Potter returns with a grin and shoves a present to Draco's chest. It was so Potter to make something with his hands. He had carved D.M. and the Hogwarts Crest on a slab of wood. It's rustic and doesn't seem to be made with magic. Below the crest read, "We survived. Let's thrive." 

He's repeats the statement to Potter several times when asked, "How are you?"  
Draco doesn't know how to answer loaded questions, but he's realized that ignoring things doesn't make them go away. Potter doesn't leave even when Draco gives him the silent treatment. 

Finally, one morning, Potter corners him in the same alcove they met on the night all students returned to Hogwarts. 

"You can't ignore me. You can't ignore this." Potter kisses Draco on the lips. Potter's small, innocent mole touches Draco's skin. He feels like he's on fire. He can't ignore the burn of want, yearning, and happiness that courses through his body - like pins and spiders running down from the root of his scalp down to his toes.

A kiss with Potter isn't just a kiss. It's like being on fire and letting the heat consume you.

He kisses back. After all, who can ignore Harry Potter? 

-fin-

**Author's Note:**

> I truly wish I had more time to flesh this out, but I didn't have the time to before this was due. So, please look out for a more comprehensive sequel of this fic with Harry's POV.


End file.
